Barracudas swim fast at Winter Fiesta

Fourteen swimmers from the North Big Horn Barracudas team competed at the Winter Fiesta meet hosted by the Powell Swim Club at the Powell Aquatic Center Jan. 12 and 13.

Teammates Emily Doughty and Aly Schneider went neck to neck in the grueling 400 IM, swimming faster and faster for that second place finish. Doughty took the lead with a strong butterfly leg and held on through the remaining 299 yards, but Schneider poured it on in the last freestyle length to stop the clock at 6:04.31 and Doughty finished immediately after in 6:04.43. Both swimmers beat the qualifying standard to guarantee splashes at the state winter meet in Laramie.

The 400-yard IM is a tough event, but Emily Doughty finished with this strong freestyle leg at the Winter Fiesta in Powell Jan. 13. She placed third in the 13-14-year-old girls age group.

Katelyn Doughty grabbed first place in the grueling 1650-yard event by knocking off over two minutes from her personal best to finish in 23:17.03. In her first attempt at the 400-yard IM Aly Schneider nabbed a state qualifying spot with a 6:04.31, good for second place.

Richard Spann keeps chipping away at his personal best times, taking nearly a minute off his 100-yard back time to finish sixth. Newcomer Aspen Thomas knocked almost 30 seconds in the 200-yard freestyle and finished seventh. She slashed twelve seconds in the 200-yard IM to grab fifth place.

In their first USA meet, Anne, Cecelia and Katie Harder competed in free, back and breast events while 7-year-old Nathan Fuller had personal best times in the 50-yard free and 50-yard back. Colby Doughty added the 100-yard free to his state qualifying times with a personal best (1:21.05) and second place finish.